On Saturday 2 September the Australian War Memorial is offering a behind the scenes look at one of the world’s largest collections of military equipment, with everything from aircraft and rockets, to tanks and artillery on display.
Free tickets for the Memorial’s Big Things in Store event, held at the Memorial’s storage facility in the Canberra suburb of Mitchell, are available to the public from Tuesday 1 August.
The event offers a unique opportunity to see new acquisitions and some much loved objects from the National Collection not currently on public display at the Memorial.
“Big Things in Store allows the public greater access to the Memorial’s unique National Collection. We will also be offering a sneak preview of some of our newest collection items, ahead of their eventual appearance in our new galleries,” Australian War Memorial Director, Matt Anderson, said.
“There are currently more than 121,000 items in store and this is chance for the public to gain a much greater appreciation of the Australian War Memorial’s full collection.
Held at the Treloar Technology Centre, the event is a one-day opportunity for the community to take an intimate look at the Memorial’s extensive collection.
“This is a first glimpse of some of the items yet to be added to new gallery displays ,” Mr Anderson said.
“This will be a chance to see new acquisitions such as the Saracen Sikorsky S-70, the Memorial’s first Black Hawk Army helicopter which performed 30 years of service including peacekeeping and humanitarian operations.
“Favourites include the much-loved G for George Avro Lancaster Mk I Bomber , alongside some of the Memorial’s more recent acquisitions, such as the F/A-18 Classic Hornet.”
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter, retired with 16 years’ of service on 19 April 2016 will also be on display.
All visitors are encouraged to book their free ticket to attend this year’s event. Tickets provide admittance to a two-hour session, with the event beginning at 9 am.
